Impacts of a Declining Christian Population to be Examined at Duquesne’s Pascal Day

March 17, 2016

The Western world's declining Christian population, linked to the idea of a society no longer rooted in the language and beliefs of Christianity, will be the topic for Duquesne University's annual Pascal Day lecture.

Visiting speaker Dr. Ann Hartle, a philosophy professor at Emory University, will present Pascal in the Post-Christian World, on Wednesday, March 30, at 7:30 p.m. in the Africa Room in the Duquesne Union. The lecture, which is free and open to the public, will use the writings of Blaise Pascal to explain this cultural shift.

Pascal's thought is uniquely suited to clarify this phenomena because, while he accepts much of modern science and agrees with certain fundamental modern political philosophy principles, he anticipates many of the problems that arise out of a modern day rejection of Christian traditions, said Hartle.

"I hope to impart to the audience a better understanding of why our world and our culture has become what it is today and what has been lost by its rejection of that Christian view," she said.

Dr. Charles Rubin, associate professor of political science at Duquesne and organizer of the Pascal Day lecture, is excited to welcome Hartle as this year's speaker. "Previous Pascal Day speakers have spoken brilliantly to topics that overlap those that Pascal was concerned with, but they did not address his thought in such a systematic way," said Rubin. "In contrast, Professor Hartle will bring her deep understanding of modern philosophy to bear directly on Pascal's view of our modern situation."

Duquesne University

Founded in 1878, Duquesne is consistently ranked among the nation's top Catholic universities for its award-winning faculty and tradition of academic excellence. Duquesne, a campus of nearly 9,500 graduate and undergraduate students, has been nationally recognized for its academic programs, community service and commitment to sustainability. Follow Duquesne University on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.www.duq.edu